Deadly cost of South Sudan’s delayed security reforms

This research paper examines the failure of security sector reform in South Sudan, specifically the inability to unify various armed groups into a single national force. It highlights how a militarised political culture and internal opposition disputes, such as the attempted ouster of Vice President Riek Machar, create instability and hinder the implementation of the 2018 Revitalised Agreement for the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS).

• South Sudan has failed to unify its armed groups into a single national security force due to a militarised political culture where political tensions frequently escalate into armed conflict. The armed forces are currently aligned with individual leaders rather than the state, meaning unification would reduce the leverage held by opposition generals who command their own militias.
• Internal conflict within the opposition party, specifically an August attempt to oust Vice President Riek Machar by a faction led by First Lieutenant General Simon Gatwech Dual, resulted in gunfire between loyalist forces. This event underscores the risk of political infighting triggering widespread instability and disrupting the reform process.
• The security mechanisms established under the 2018 Revitalised Agreement for the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS)—including the Joint Transitional Security Committee, the Joint Military Ceasefire Commission, and Area Joint Military Ceasefire Committees—remain not fully functional nearly three years after they were supposed to be established.
• The process of creating the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (the intended replacement for the Sudan People’s Liberation Army) is hindered by troops deserting cantonment camps due to food shortages and poor living conditions, as well as disputes over unification ratios for army command.

APA

Mutangadura, C. (2021). Deadly cost of South Sudan’s delayed security reforms. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/deadly-cost-of-south-sudans-delayed-security-reforms

Chicago

Mutangadura, Chido. Deadly cost of South Sudan’s delayed security reforms. Institute for Security Studies, 2021. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/deadly-cost-of-south-sudans-delayed-security-reforms.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mutangadura |first1=Chido |title=Deadly cost of South Sudan’s delayed security reforms |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=15 September 2021 |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/deadly-cost-of-south-sudans-delayed-security-reforms |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mutangadura2021deadly, author = {Mutangadura, Chido}, title = {{Deadly cost of South Sudan’s delayed security reforms}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/deadly-cost-of-south-sudans-delayed-security-reforms}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }